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The West shows a continuing interest in the Eastern-imported
techniques and wisdom that extol transcendentalism and
respect for the laws of the Universe. Such techniques
are very numerous, some better known than others, such
as Yoga and Zen, the latter now having become terms
of common linguistic usage and suffering a loss of meaning
as a result.
Even though the techniques in question seek a goal
of unity, there is in the Western style of living very
little that is compatible with the needs and life patterns
of the societies in which such techniques originated.
Applying the directions for adopting the meditation
postures presented by certain schools is often a great
challenge for the Western rational mind and divided
thinking.
Such thinking hardly comprehends that establishing
the right conditions for meditation does not come naturally,
that it is not enough to will, and that adopting a position
propitious to detachment leads often to something other
than a fresh encounter with oneself and the world outside.
Because the Alexander Technique teaches how to allow
to the postural mechanisms to function freely, enabling
the body to adopt postural patterns specific to an imposed
position, it can help the meditation aspirant to consciously
create the right physical conditions to enable him/her
to achieve a more complete unity of self in the context
of a given meditation exercise. The specific directions
given by instructors will be understood much more concretely
when the aspirant will have had the experience of a
body accepting without resistance to be directed consciously
towards a better equilibrium and within a broader sphere
of awareness, embracing internal and external perceptions.
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